As an actor, Mia Goth is synonymous with horror. She’s widely celebrated for her memorable – not to mention meme-able – performances in provocative projects such as Pearl, X, and Suspiria, while her eccentric off-screen persona has won her fans from all corners of the internet. However, there are serious cracks showing in this once-unified fanbase.
Last week, reports emerged that background actor James Hunter is suing Goth for allegedly kicking him in the head while filming a scene together in April 2023 (per Variety). Hunter claims that he suffered a concussion after Goth kicked him while filming the A24 sequel MaXXXine. In the lawsuit, Hunter reportedly alleges that Goth “taunted, mocked and belittled” him after he complained about her behaviour. Goth has yet to publicly respond to these allegations.
A sub-section of Goth’s fanbase responded to the allegations with one word: “Mother”. Unless you’ve been enjoying a digital detox, you’ve probably noticed that this word – along with variations of “serving”, “slay”, and “cunt” – is enjoying a rebirth across social media. Over on X (formerly Twitter), “Mother” is one of the greatest honours that can be bestowed on famous women. Just ask Ayo Edebiri, Quinta Brunson, and Gillian Anderson.
All in all, it’s a bit of harmless fun. But what happens when – as is the case for Mia Goth – “Mother” is accused of assault?
As the allegations against Goth made the rounds on X, the divisions within her fanbase became stark. One X user wrote, “I don’t care if Mia Goth kicked that person on set… that’s mother,” while another said, “How you let Mia Goth bully you LMAOO that’s mother idc”, and one added, “Boo hoo Mia Goth will always be mother.”
Meanwhile, others expressed their disgust at the way this language was being used to trivialise allegations of assault. One X user wrote, “Mia Goth allegedly assaulted a worker and you see people making jokes and calling her mother… stan culture and parasocial relationships have your brains cooked,” another added, “I’m such a Mia Goth fan but saying she’s mother for [allegedly] kicking someone in the head is chronically online behaviour” while one wrote, “The way some people immediately are calling Mia Goth “mother” and dismissing his battery assault case is not cute or funny btw.”
We all know that fandom – or ‘stan-dom’ – can easily veer from the realm of reality. Remember all the abuse levelled at Olivia Wilde after she dared to date Harry Styles? Or when ‘fans’ tried to hold Jenna Ortega responsible for her co-star’s alleged behaviour? And don’t get us started on the needless speculation about Taylor Swift’s sexuality.
Things tend to get iffy when fans view parasocial relationships with celebrities as actual relationships. As Dr Louie D. Valencia, Associate Professor of Digital History at Texas State University, told GLAMOUR: “We weren’t really created to be thinking about strangers on the other end of the planet – who we’ve never met and who we see as somehow connected to our lives.”